I decided to give gluten free a chance in the hopes it would help me with my migraines - I was getting 2-5 migraines a week and I was having issues that I thought were IBS. I was tested for celiac awhile ago but it came back that I don't have problems with it. I decided to try going GF anyway because sometimes when I eat some flour products, I get a migraine nearly instantly.

It has been 10 days and I've had 2 regular strength migraines and a few tiny almost migraines that faded away rather quickly (30 minutes or less) and my IBS symptoms seem bunches better (knock on wood).

It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would and within the first few days I lost like 3 pounds (I'm not positive it's related to that - it could be the workouts - who knows).

So. I'd like to recommend at least giving it a shot, just for funsies - see if it helps you!

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear

you should get tested for a wheat allergy next time you can get to the doctor. if you're allergic to wheat you won't necessarily have to give up all the gluten type products that contain barley and rye

_________________I am not a troll. I am TELLING YOU THE ******GOD'S TRUTH****** AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT THE HEAR IT DO YOU?

you should get tested for a wheat allergy next time you can get to the doctor. if you're allergic to wheat you won't necessarily have to give up all the gluten type products that contain barley and rye

I got skin and blood tested for allergies from an allergist about a month, month and a half ago - I didn't test allergic to anything.

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear

And you get the picture. But I've been back off for...3 weeks? But one of the symptoms I thought was from gluten I just got a few days ago. Didn't know if maybe it was because I'm detoxing or if I tainted myself (I don't think that's it) or I have no idea. The symptom is my weird rash, which is on my feet and a tiny bit on my left hand. It isn't a typical gluten rash, I've asked docs about it, no one knows.

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear

I've been experimenting with gluten and soy free also. I have made it through three weeks now, except one day I gave in and had some tofu. I have been strict with keeping gluten out. The reason I am doing it is because I have hypothyroidism and had not been able to get my TSH back under 4 for the longest time (at one point it was 24). I was feeling run down for a while.

Last week I had my thyroid checked again and my TSH was at 2.75 without having to increase my dose of meds so I must be doing something right!

This way of eating has literally forced me to rely far less on bread/flour for sustenance and protein etc and more on beans, nuts/seeds, whole grains (buckwheat groats, millet seed, wild rice etc), vegetables etc. I really had no idea how much I was relying on bread before. It's been hard though as far as not having sandwiches. Leafy wraps just don't cut it for me lol. A few times I made cornflour tortillas and it helped a little.

A challenge though has been that my omnivore husband (who eats my vegan meals at home because I refuse to handle animal products and he doesn't like to cook) has been dropping weight like crazy and he is already underweight (he has several major disabilities and is on a cocktail of meds). I have had to find calorific foods and snacks to keep him from losing more. Yesterday I made my own version of peanut butter cookies, using a can of chickpeas as the "egg", and only a 1/4 cup of rice flour to help stiffen the dough a little. Otherwise I made them with peanut butter, maple syrup, baking soda, the chickpeas, crushed raw peanuts, cinnamon, and the little bit of white rice flour. I was amazed at how well the chickpeas worked as a binder and to add moistness, and I didn't even need any oil. He's eaten five so far. :)

appifanie,

I hope you get to the bottom of your symptoms! For me I think soy is more of a culprit than gluten. When I tried the tofu a few days ago, I developed a terrible fatigue the next day that lasted all day. The first week or two I was gluten free/soy free I was more teary than usual and anxious and craving bread. Since then my energy improved and mood has started to come around. But I feel like I crashed after the tofu. Very strange. Have you been tested for other food allergies? I was tested for Celiac years ago (upper endoscopy with biopsy) because my Mom is gluten intolerant and gets rashes with it, but everything was negative. I have never been tested for the soy. I am also suspecting that corn is doing something to me and I always seem to eat more corn based products when eating gluten free.

If you had an allergy test and you aren't allergic to anything then going gluten free won't help you. It is possible that you could become irritated by environmental factors. What do you use for laundry detergent? How about fabric softener, if you use? Dryer sheets? How about your soap? Your lotion? Those are all things that could potentially cause a rash.

I switched to fragrance free detergent many years ago after having some rashes and they went away. Beyond that, for the past few winters, my skin gets really dry so I will get rashes if I am not diligent with putting lotion on and especially since I love hot showers. If you aren't eating enough fats, that can be a contributing factor to dry skin.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

We moved sort of recently and have a new allergist. He tested the kiddo and she's allergic to more things than we thought so I'm considering having him test me.

I don't change laundry detergent or softener brands (Method). I've been using the same shampoos for years and the body wash and lotions haven't given me any troubles. I do want to increase my intake of healthy fats and plan on buying some coconut oil.

I will CRY if I have soy problems. I love tofu and my soy creamer.

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear